Ronda Rousey Wants to Be Captain Marvel? 5 MMA & WWE Actors That Prove It Can Be Done!

What's better than Superheroes? Not much. So I'm bringing you Everything Super. Verified Creator and member of the Rogues Gallery.

MMA fighter Ronda Rousey is the latest in a long string of people lobbying to get into superhero films. Tyrese Gibson wants to play [Green Lantern](tag:593221), Ryan Reynolds secured the spot as Deadpool after years of trying, Channing Tatum is now playing Gambit after auditioning in costume, and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson hinted for several months that he'd be in the Shazam movie before officially being cast as Black Adam. Now, Ronda Rousey wants to play the titular character in Marvel's 2018 [Captain Marvel](tag:949779). Recently, Ronda shared with us some art that Redditors have created to show what it would look like to see her in the role. Check it out!

While there is no debating Rousey fits the image of Ms. Marvel to a T, some fans doubt her acting abilities. However, as we have seen time and time again, MMA fighters can often make the jump from the ring to the big screen. Gathered below are 5 actors who started off as fighters before becoming successful actors.

5. Gina Carano

Though she isn't a huge name in the acting industry, Carano has proved several times that she posses the skills necessary to be a great actress. Carano's first big role was Mallory Krane in the 2011 film Haywire. After that Carano went on to star in Fast and Furious 6 and will soon appear as Angel Dust in Deadpool. 2016 seems to be a big year for her as she is currently slated to have large roles in nearly half a dozen films. Before becoming an actress, Carano was a rather successful MMA fighter; she was ranked as the third best fighter in her weight division and headlined the first MMA fighter headed by two women. She started out her fighting career in the Muay Thai circuit with a 12 win and one loss record, after which she was recruited into the Women's Mixed Martial Arts.

4. Randy Couture

Randy Couture was an alternate for the US Olympic wrestling team four times in a row. He is also a SIX time MMA World Champion in the heavyweight and light heavyweight divisions. As an actor, Couture has more than 20 credits to his list of films, with his biggest films being the action-packed The Expendables franchise in which he has been in all three thus far and rumored to be in the fourth installment.

3. "Stone Cold" Steve Austin

Steve Austin gained popularity as a WWE wrestler during the 90's and was one of the most profitable actors in the business. Austin is a six-time WWF champion, four-time WWF Tag Team Champion, and two-time WWF Intercontinental Champion marking him as the fifth wrestler to win the Triple Crown in WWE history. He semi-retired from wrestling in 2003 due to neck and knee injuries but has continued to make occasional appearances ever since. He started his acting career in the late 90's as Detective Jake Cage in the television series Nash Bridges. He has been growing as a professional actor since 1998 and has starred in feature films such as The Expendables, The Longest Yard, Condemned, Damage, Grown Ups 2, Smosh: The Movie, and this year's The Echo Effect (also known as Chain of Command)

2. Dave Bautista

Dave Bautista is most famous for his time as a WWE fighter under the name Batista. He has won the WWE World Tag Team Championship three times (twice with Ric Flair and once with John Cena). Batista is a six time world champion in the WWE and then in 2012 signed a contract as a MMA fighter, however, he only ever did one fight which he won. As far as acting goes, most notably he played the character Drax the Destroyer in Marvel's blockbuster [Guardians of the Galaxy](tag:424073) alongside Chris Pratt. Bautista also starred in the 2012 movie The Man with the Iron Fists, 2013's Riddick, and he has a rather large role in the 24th James Bond Film [Spectre](tag:660009) and will star in the reboot of Kickboxer as Tong Po.

1. Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson

"The Rock" is arguably more famous for his acting chops than he ever was as a wrestler. To the younger generations, The Rock is just an actor not ever knowing about his time in the WWE. This year Dwayne landed on Forbes highest paid actors list, proving he's made a successful name for himself in the acting industry. "The Rock" will be playing the villianous Black Adam in DC's upcoming Shazam movie alongisde whoever they cast as Captain Marvel (a different Captain Marvel than Rousey wants to play, this one is a 10 year old boy not a super powered military woman, confusing I know, apparently it's difficult coming up with superhero names.)

As an actor, Disney just confirmed at D23 this weekend that The Rock will be providing the voice for Maui in their next princess film Moana. The Rock started his successful acting career as the Scorpion King, first in The Mummy Returns, and then again in The Scorpion King. He went on to star in Disney's The Game Plan and Race to Witch Mountain after which he provided his voice in Planet 51. Then in 2010, The Rock went on to play the titular character in the family comedy The Tooth Fairy. He has also starred in Fast Five, Fast and Furious 6, and Furious Seven, all three of which are part of the Fast and Furious franchise. He starred as the titular character of the 2014 summer blockbuster Hercules and was in Pain & Gain and G.I. Joe: Retaliation. The Rock is also part of the Journey franchise and is set to star in the third and fourth installments coming out in the next couple years. It's no doubt that The Rock has become one of the biggest names in the acting industry, though it's hard not to forget he's also a huge wrestler.

As a wrestler, The Rock has a whopping seventeen Championship titles, including ten as World Champion. He is the sixth Triple Crown Champion in WWE history having won the WWF Tag Team championship five times and the intercontinental championship twice. He started wrestling 20 years ago in the mid-90s before retiring in 2004. However, he went back to wrestling in 2011 and continues making appearances.

Photo credit Somniac

So there you have it, five former fighters that prove it's possible to take the leap to the big screen. Though I can't attest to Ronda Rousey's acting skills, she definitely has the look, the strength, and the will to play Captain Marvel. Honestly, I can't think of anyone else who could portray a more faithful Carol Danvers (Captain Marvel's secert identity). Although, the Captain Marvel movie won't come out for another three years, so perhaps by then Rousey won't even want to play the character anymore. However, with the power Marvel has to catapult actors to fame (look at the now A-Lister Chris Pratt), it would be surprising to see anyone not want to star in a Marvel movie.

Do you think Ronda Rousey should play Captain Marvel? Have someone better in mind? Click "Become a Creator" and tell us about it!

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